Hunger Games 1

Chapter 42
The rain hit the stone cave, and the crackling sound made me gradually regain consciousness, and I wanted to sleep for a while.At this time, I was covered with a warm blanket and stayed at home safely. I felt a headache in a daze. Maybe I had a cold, so I could lie on the bed. I don’t know how long I have been in a coma.Mom stroked my cheek with her hand, and I didn't push her hand away like I did when I was awake.I didn't want her to know how much I longed for her tender touch, how much I missed her even though I didn't trust her.Then a voice, not Mom's, said, "Katniss, can you hear me?"

I opened my eyes, and that sense of security suddenly disappeared.I'm not at home, not with my mother.I was in a dark, cold cave, my bare feet frozen under the covers, and the air smelled of blood.A haggard pale boy's face came into my eyes.I was startled at first, then calmed down.

"Peta."

"Hey, good to see you opened your eyes again," he said.

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

"I don't know, I woke up last night, and you were lying next to me with a pool of blood, it was scary," he said, "I think it's over, and I don't want to sit up or do anything. Anything else."

I cautiously raised my left hand and touched my forehead, which had already been bandaged.Just doing this simple movement makes me feel weak and dizzy.Peeta lifted the water bottle to my mouth, and I was so thirsty that I took several gulps.

"You're better," I said.

"It's better, your injections are working," he said. "My legs are almost swollen down this morning."

He didn't seem mad at me for lying to him, drugging him, and going to a party.Maybe I'm too weak now, and I'll listen to him complain later when I get better.But now, he is very gentle.

"Have you eaten?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I ate all three pieces of meat, and then realized that I have to hold on for a while. Don't worry, I will strictly control my eating," he said.

"No, fine, you need to eat, I'll be hunting soon," I said.

"Don't worry too much, okay?" he said. "Let me take care of you for a while."

I don't seem to have much other options either.Peeta fed me some bird meat and raisins, and some water.He rubbed my feet to warm them up, wrapped them in his jacket, and finally tucked the sleeping bag under my chin.

"Your boots and socks are still wet, it's not very nice weather," he said.There was thunder in the sky, and through the cracks in the rocks, I saw lightning piercing the sky.Rainwater trickled down from the roof of the cave.Peeta tucks a piece of plastic into the crevice of the rock above my head to keep out the dripping rain.

"I wonder why this rain is happening, I mean, who's the target?" Peeta said.

"Cato and Salish," I said without thinking, "Foxface is in the cave, Graf, she stabbed me, and..." My voice trailed off.

"I know Graf is dead, I saw it in the image in the sky last night," he said. "Did you kill her?"

"No, Saresh smashed her head off with a rock," I said.

"It's a good thing he didn't catch you," Peeta said.

The scene of the banquet suddenly appeared before my eyes, and I felt sick.

"He caught me and then let me go."

Then, I told him exactly what happened, and told him many things that he didn't ask because of his serious illness, and I didn't plan to tell him, such as the explosion and my ears. , Lulu's death, the boys in the first district, and bread and so on.All of this has to do with Saresh's behavior, which explains why he wants to repay me.

"Did he let you go because he didn't want to owe you anything?" Peeta asked confidently.

"Yeah, I don't expect you to understand, you've always wanted everything, but if you grew up in the 'sandwich', I don't have to explain." I said.

"Well, you don't need to explain, I'm too stupid to understand," he said.

"Like that bread, I always feel indebted to you," I said.

"Bread? What bread? From our childhood?" he said. "I don't think we really need to think about it anymore. Didn't you just snatch me from death too?"

"But you don't know me, and we haven't even talked about these things. Besides, favors are always the hardest to repay, and if you didn't help me, I wouldn't have rescued you at all. Why did you help me then?" I said.

"Why? You know," Peeta said.My head shook slightly, it hurt so much. "Haymitch said you always get someone to explain why."

"Haymitch?" I said, "what has he got to do with this?"

"Nothing," Peeta said. "So, Cato and Thrash, ha, I think it's too much to expect them to destroy each other at the same time?"

But thinking about it just makes me uneasy. "I think we like Salish, we'd be friends in District [-]," I said.

"Well, let's hope Cato kills him so we don't have to," Peeta said grimly.

I don't want Cato to kill Saresh at all, I don't want anyone else to die.But that's not what a winner should say in the arena.I tried my best to hold back, but the tears still blurred my eyes.

Peeta looked at me with concern, "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

I replied yes, because that is also true, tears are only a temporary weakness, not a permanent admission of defeat. "I want to go home, Peeta," I said sadly like a child.

"You will, I promise." He said, leaning down and kissing me.

"I want to go home now," I said.

"Let me tell you, if you sleep a little longer, you can go home in your dreams, and then you can really go home without knowing it. Okay?" He said.

"Okay," I said softly, "wake me up when you need to be alert."

"I'm fine and well rested, thanks to you and Haymitch. Hey, who knows how long this is going to last?" he said.

What does he mean?Do you mean a storm?Is it the rest we get for a while?Or is it the game itself?I don't know, I'm too sad and tired to ask him anymore.

It was night when Peeta woke me up, and the rain was pouring down, and the water droplets on the roof of the cave turned into trickles.Peeta has placed the pot where the leak is the worst, and the plastic sheeting over my head has been switched to keep most of the rain out.I feel better now, can sit up and feel less dizzy.I feel very hungry.So is Peeta.Apparently he was waiting for me to wake up so we could eat, and he couldn't wait.

There was not much left to eat, two pieces of meat, a bit of mashed plant root, and a handful of dried fruit.

"Should we share it and eat it separately?" Peeta asked.

"No, let's eat, the meat is going bad, and the worst thing is that the food is going bad." I said.I divided the food into two portions and wanted to eat slowly, but we were so hungry that we finished it in a minute or two.My stomach was not satisfied at all.

"Going hunting tomorrow," I said.

"I can't help you with that," Peeta said, "I've never hunted before."

"I hunt, you do it." I said, "You can pick wild vegetables and fruits."

"I wish there were bread bushes here," Peeta said.

"The bread they sent from District [-] was still warm at that time." I said, sighing, "Here, chew this." I handed him a few mint leaves and stuffed them in my mouth. A few slices.

The images that appeared in the sky were difficult to see clearly, but it was still possible to know that there was no death today.That said, Cato and Salish haven't had a showdown yet.

"Where's Saresh? I mean, what's on the other side of the arena?" I ask Peeta.

"A piece of wilderness that can't be seen at a glance. There are grasses as tall as a person everywhere. I can't tell. Maybe some of them are grains. The colors of the grass are different, but there is no road in it."

"I bet some of it's grain in there, and Saresh would recognize it," I said. "Have you been there?"

"No, everyone doesn't want to follow Salish in the grass. It's gloomy inside. When you look at the field, you think there may be everything in it, snakes, beasts, and quicksand." Peeta said, "Everything might have."

I didn't say a word, Peeta's words reminded me of the warning that you are not allowed to cross the fence in District [-], Peeta is different from Gale, Gale will think that there are delicious prey hidden there, and of course there will be danger.Of course Saresh knew there was danger there.Peeta isn't weak, he's proven he's not a coward.But I think, growing up in a family atmosphere where the smell of bread, he will not be very curious.But Gale asks questions about everything.And what would Peeta think of the jokes Gale and I made every day after breaking the law and crossing the fence?Will it surprise him?And what we said about Panem, Gale's hot words about the Capitol, how would he react?
"Maybe there really is a bread bush in there," I said. "Sarish looks fatter than when the big game started, and maybe that's why."

"Either well fed or good patron," Peeta said. "I wonder how we can get Haymitch to deliver the bread?"

(End of this chapter)